`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
`_________________
`BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
`_________________
`YITA LLC,
`Petitioner,
`
`v.
`
`MACNEIL IP LLC,
`Patent Owner.
`__________________
`
`Case No. IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`__________________
`
`PATENT OWNER’S SUR-REPLY TO PETITIONER’S REPLY
`
`
`
`

`

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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`Page
`
`I. 
`
`II. 
`
`B. 
`
`MacNeil’s Lada Niva scans prove that Rabbe’s tray did not closely
`conform. ........................................................................................................... 1 
`Rabbe discloses a prior art upper-perimeter interference fit, not the
`claimed closely conforming panels. ................................................................ 8 
`A. 
`Rabbe describes an interference fit that was well-known in the
`prior art. ................................................................................................. 9 
`Rabbe does not teach that its tray sides meet the conformance
`limitations. ........................................................................................... 14 
`III.  Yita has not shown a reasonable expectation of success. .............................. 18 
`IV.  Yita fails to articulate how it proposes combining Rabbe, Yung, and
`Gruenwald. ..................................................................................................... 21 
`Rabbe’s floor tray geometry would have turned a POSITA away from
`thermoforming. .............................................................................................. 24 
`VI.  A POSITA would understand Yung to disclose compression molding. ....... 32 
`VII.  Rabbe discloses only thermoset natural rubber. ............................................ 38 
`VIII.  Yita’s Recycling Assertions Are Wrong. ...................................................... 39 
`IX.  Objective evidence confirms that the claims of the ’186 Patent would
`not have been obvious. .................................................................................. 39 
`Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 41 
`
`V. 
`
`X. 
`
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
` Page(s)
`
`Federal Cases
`Continental Can Co. USA, Inc. v. Monsanto Co.,
`948 F.2d 1264 (Fed. Cir. 1991) .................................................................... 40, 41
`Ex Parte Nobuya Sato & Kazunari Saitou,
`No. 2012-001276, 2014 WL 1154010 (P.T.A.B. Mar. 20, 2014) ........................ 8
`In re Heinle,
`342 F.2d 1001 (C.C.P.A. 1965) ............................................................................ 8
`Sensonics, Inc. v. Aerosonic Corp.,
`81 F.3d 1566 (Fed. Cir. 1996) ............................................................................ 20
`Standard Oil Co. v. Am. Cyanamid Co.,
`774 F.2d 448 (Fed. Cir. 1985) ............................................................................ 20
`World Bottling Cap, LLC, v. Crown Packaging Technology, Inc.,
`IPR2015-01651, Paper 34 (P.T.A.B. Jan. 19, 2017) .......................................... 40
`Regulations
`37 C.F.R. § 42.8 ....................................................................................................... 43
`37 C.F.R. § 42.24(a)(1)(i) ........................................................................................ 43
`
`
`ii
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`

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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`EXHIBIT LIST
`Description
`
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Declaration of James L. Throne, Ph.D.1
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Reserved
`Reserved
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`
`
`
`Exhibit No.
`2001
`2002
`2003
`2004
`2005
`2006
`2007
`2008
`2009
`2010
`2011
`
`2012
`2013
`2014
`
`2015
`
`2016
`2017
`
`2018
`
`2019
`
`2020
`
`
`1 Patent Owner has affirmatively withdrawn the testimony of Dr. Throne in Exhibit
`
`2004 pursuant to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board Consolidated Trial Practice
`
`Guide 2019.
`
`iii
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`

`

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`2021
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`2022
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`
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
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`anslate
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`
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`
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`
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`Jinrong Invalidity Contentions, Northern District of Illinois
`Eastern Division, Case No. 1:19-cv-02460
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`
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`

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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
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`Signoff Record for Tool 0814, 2013 – 2018 Dodge RAM 1500
`Quad Cab
`Signoff Record for Tool 01846, 2014 – 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK 4
`Door Unlimited
`
`vi
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
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`Signoff Record for Tool 00944, 2013 – 2018 Toyota 4Runner /
`2014-2017 Lexus GX460
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`1500/2500HD/3500HD Double Cab (PS)
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`(PS)
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`Lexus GX460 (PS)
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`00804 for 2015 – 2018 Ford Escape (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’834 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 00840 for 2013 – 2017 Honda Accord (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 02554 for 2014 – 2018 Chevrolet Silverado / Sierra
`1500/2500HD/3500HS Double Cab (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 00814 for 2013 – 2018 Dodge RAM 1500 Quad Cab
`(PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 01846 for 2014 – 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK 4 Door
`Unlimited (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 00944 for 2013 – 2018 Toyota 4Runner / 2014 – 2017
`Lexus GX460 (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 00804 for 2015 – 2018 Ford Escape (PS)
`Claim Chart of ’186 Patent Claim 1 as Applied to WeatherTech
`Tool No. 00840 for 2013 – 2017 Honda Accord (PS)
`Plate 3/5 of Rabbe 2547252, annotated
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`
`vii
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`

`
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`2099
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`2100
`2101
`
`2102
`2103
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`2107
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`21132
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`
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`
`
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`
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`View from Lada Niva Scan: DS and PS Footwells
`Scan image, Lada Niva DS footwell, from rear inboard,
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`Scan image, Lada Niva DS footwell, from rear, annotated.
`Scan image, Lada Niva DS footwell, from rear outboard,
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`Scan image, Lada Niva PS footwell, from rear inboard, annotated.
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`
`
`2 Exhibits 2113-2136 were served as supplemental evidence on May 26, 2021.
`
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`
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`
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`
`and 2131 have not been filed.
`
`viii
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
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`Quad Cab (PS)
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`4 Door Unlimited (PS)
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`
`ix
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`

`
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`
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`2139
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`
`
`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
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`
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`Patent No. 8,833,834
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`
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`2173
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`2174
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`
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`
`2180
`2181
`
`2182
`
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`
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`
`
`
`
`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
`
`U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0260711 by Toner
`et al., published September 17, 2015
`DE Desktop Engineering (January 2013)
`U.S. Patent No. 7,108,823 to Kaufman, issued September 19,
`2006
`Reserved
`Bauer Re-Akt – The Athletes, Advertisement
`Tim A. Osswald, Georg Menges, Materials Science of Polymers
`for Engineers (3rd ed. 2010)
`R. Verdejo et al., Heel-shoe interactions and the durability of
`EVA foam running-shoe midsoles, Journal of Biomechanics 37
`(2004) 1379-1386
`Reserved
`Wikipedia, Body in White,
`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_in_white (last visited
`September 12, 2021)
`Frost & Sullivan White Paper, Quality 4.0: A Paradigm Shift of
`In-line Inspection in Body-in-White,
`https://www.nikonmetrology.com/images/white-papers/fs-wp-
`nikon-q40-biw-en.pdf (last visited September 12, 2021)
`Transcript of Deposition of Mark Strachan on September 8, 2021
`Transcript of Deposition of Paul E. Koch, Ph.D. on September 10,
`2021
`Transcript of Deposition of Dan Perreault on September 15, 2021
`Second Supplemental Declaration of Tim A. Osswald, Ph.D.
`Second Supplemental Declaration of Ray Sherman
`Errata for Transcript of the Deposition of Bruce D. Popp, Ph.D.,
`taken June 28, 2021 (submitted as EX1046)
`Errata for Transcript of the Deposition of Ryan Granger, taken
`July 1, 2021 (submitted as EX1048)
`Errata for Transcript of the Deposition of Ray Sherman, taken
`July 28, 2021 (submitted as EX1047)
`Errata for Transcript of the Deposition of Tim A. Osswald, Ph.D.,
`taken August 5, 2021 (submitted as EX1049)
`Errata for Transcript of the Deposition of Samuel Shen Chong,
`taken August 10, 2021 (submitted as EX1050)
`
`
`xii
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`Case IPR2020-01142
`Patent No. 8,833,834
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`I. MacNeil’s Lada Niva scans prove that Rabbe’s tray did not closely
`conform.
`Yita does not dispute that trays made in accordance with Rabbe’s drawings
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`would not meet the “substantially conforming” requirements of Claims 1, 5, and 9.
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`Paper 28 (“Response”), 21-37. Yita also does not dispute that the Lada Niva
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`footwell shape did not change before the filing date of Rabbe. EX1051, 68:17-
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`69:10; 33:18-20; 105:14-106:7. A visual comparison of the Lada Niva footwell to
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`Rabbe demonstrates that Rabbe’s tray walls do not meet the 1/8 inch conformance
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`limitations.
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`EX2126, ¶126.
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`Id., ¶¶137-140.
`Id., 49137-140.
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`Id., ¶123.
`Id., 9123.
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`Id., ¶124.
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`Id., ¶¶129-30.
`Id., 99 129-30.
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`Id., ¶¶131-135.
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`Id., ¶¶141-142.
`Id., 9141-142.
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`Id., ¶¶143-145.
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`Id., ¶¶147-148.
`Id., 99 147-148.
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`Id., ¶¶149-153.
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`That Rabbe’s sidewalls do not meet the 1/8 inch conformance limitations is
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`far from a “distraction.” Paper 60 (“Reply”), 9. The scans demonstrate that Rabbe
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`was not trying to create tray sidewalls that tracked the footwell’s complex curves.
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`Instead, Rabbe aimed for a tray with (a) sidewall heights that varied according to
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`the heights of the footwell walls (EX2024, 13:2-6; EX2041, ¶¶117-118; Response,
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`19-21) and (b) a perimeter generally shaped like the footwell so as not to change the
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`aesthetics. EX2024, 10, 11:20-22.
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`Rabbe describes its figures as “a rear three-quarter profile view at an angle of
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`45°”—suggesting a high degree of precision. EX2024, 11:28-31; EX1048, 235:14-
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`238:2. While Yita now runs from them, Yita relied extensively on Rabbe’s figures
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`in the Petition. Petition, 33-34, 36, 40-42, 53-54, 56, 59-61, 78. Dr. Koch/Yita relied
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`6
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`upon the “wall” in Figure 3 in the deadpedal/kickplate area as satisfying the
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`requirements of Claim 1:
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`Petition, 42; EX1003, ¶¶94, 142-144; Paper 17 (“Decision”), 30-32. It doesn’t:
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`But now Dr. Koch/Yita say the claims don’t require conformance there. Reply, 9;
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`EX1041, ¶58. Dr. Koch now says there is not enough information to tell whether
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`this wall conforms to the corresponding region of the Lada Niva (EX2184, 139:7-
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`14) or even to determine if it qualifies as a “panel.” Id., 143:4-13. In IPR2020-
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`01139, Yita represents that Rabbe’s illustrations alone show the coplanar nature of
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`Rabbe’s top margins (Petition (IPR2020-01142), 76) and that Yung’s illustrations
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`alone show baffle dimensions. Id., 57. Confronted with the reality that Rabbe’s tray
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`sidewalls are not close to the Lada Niva footwell’s shape, Yita tells the Board the
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`drawings are not “precise.” Mr. Granger relied upon “overall proportions and
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`shapes,” not numerical dimensions. EX2126, ¶114. Drawings may be relied upon
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`for that purpose. In re Heinle, 342 F.2d 1001, 1007 (C.C.P.A. 1965); Ex Parte
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`Nobuya Sato & Kazunari Saitou, No. 2012-001276, 2014 WL 1154010, at *2-3
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`(P.T.A.B. Mar. 20, 2014).
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`II. Rabbe discloses a prior art upper-perimeter interference fit, not
`the claimed closely conforming panels.
`Rabbe discloses a prior-art interference fit—not a tray whose sidewalls meet
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`the conformance limitations. Response, 16-19; EX2043, ¶¶99-101. There is no
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`dispute that an interference fit prevents Rabbe’s trays from meeting the 1/8 inch
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`conformance limitations. EX2041, ¶115; EX2126, ¶¶166-178; EX2043, ¶¶93-94.
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`Dr. Koch agrees that if the tray conforms at the top perimeter, it would “encroach
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`upon far more than a few millimeters of space” of the footwell. EX1041, ¶33.
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`The Petition relied on—and the Board instituted on—alleged disclosure in
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`Rabbe that the “sides” of Rabbe’s tray “perfectly conform to the contour of the
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`vehicle interior[.]” Petition, 36, 40, 42, 46, 54; Decision, 15; EX1005, 1:1-6. But
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`this sentence is a material mistranslation. EX2040, 31:12-32:16. Yita’s Reply does
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`not dispute the translation error—it just moves to Plan B.
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`A. Rabbe describes an interference fit that was well-known in
`the prior art.
`What Rabbe tried to patent was a tray with edges “raised over the entire
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`perimeter, by unequal heights according to the relief encountered[.]” EX2024, 13:2-
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`6. Rather than a one-size-fits-all tray having sides of equal height, Rabbe’s tray
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`height would follow the height of the footwell. EX2043, ¶104. Yita apparently
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`concedes Rabbe’s Claim 1 focuses on the edge height varying with the relief. Reply,
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`9
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`7.3 Rabbe describes an interference fit in which the top perimeter of the tray, and
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`only the top perimeter of the tray, presses against the footwell walls. EX2126,
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`¶¶168-177; EX2043, ¶¶81-83, 95, 99. This well-known prior-art method gave a tray
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`the rough aesthetic appearance of the footwell while only coming close to the wall
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`in a limited space (i.e., at the top perimeter). Response, 16-21; EX2043, ¶¶85, 102-
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`103.
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`Yita’s new Bailey reference is an example. EX1053. Bailey describes a tray
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`that “conforms to the contours of the floor portion.” Id., Abstract. Bailey’s use of
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`that phraseology is illuminating to understanding Rabbe. It refers to the tray having
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`a similar general shape to the footwell—not that the tray wall surface comes within
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`1/8 inch of the footwell.
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`Bailey is like Rabbe—a tray that has an interference fit on the top rims and
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`with sides that do not come close to touching the footwell wall:
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`3 Yita is wrong (Reply, 7) that Claim 2 of Rabbe’s unexamined French application
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`refers to something else—it is a narrower expression of the Claim 1 concept. Claim
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`1 merely requires the “edges” be raised “by unequal heights according to the relief
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`encountered”—loose variation with the footwell height. EX2024, 13:2-6. Claim 2
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`requires heights more strictly proportional to corresponding heights in the passenger
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`compartment. Id., 13:7-8.
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`Id., Figs. 2/4 (annotated). Bailey’s language is uncanny in its resemblance to Rabbe.
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`Bailey describes that “[t]he rounded edges 16 … adds additional rigidity to the mat”
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`and “[m]at 10 is dimensioned and configured so that rolled edges 16 abut against
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`the periphery of the carpeted floor well in which the mat is placed thereby
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`precluding mat movement.”4 Id., 5:59-68; see also id., 6:57-62. As Bailey makes
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`clear, it is the “rolled edges” that contact the vehicle footwell—pushing away the
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`mat walls from the footwell.5 EX2043, ¶¶103, 105-107.
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`Bailey describes exactly what Rabbe disclosed—an interference fit at the
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`upper perimeter of its tray. This interference fit, where Rabbe’s raised edges are
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`“presse[d] against the walls” of the Lada Niva footwell, would actually, by design,
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`keep the rest of the surface area of the sidewalls away from the footwell. Response,
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`16-19; EX2041, ¶¶115-116; EX2043, ¶93-94. Rabbe and Bailey are just like prior
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`art products:
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`4 Emphasis herein is added.
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`5 Bailey’s flange can be integrally formed with the walls because it is at the edge of
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`the mold and does not create a discontinuity. Rabbe’s flange bends down on a
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`shorter wall while the adjacent wall continues upward as a high wall, making it
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`impossible to integrally thermoform that flange. EX2041, ¶¶90, 104.
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`EX2126, ¶¶168-178.
`EX2126, 9168-178.
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`
`
`eere
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`Colors Available
`Current Model Year
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`StabilizingRim 9
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`Stabilizing Rim
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`Stabilizing Rim
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`0>E
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`EX2043, ¶¶82-83.
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`B. Rabbe does not teach that its tray sides meet the conformance
`limitations.
`The Petition did not rely upon all the “[o]ther portions” of Rabbe that Yita
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`belatedly asserts satisfy the “substantially conforming” limitations. Compare Reply,
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`5 with Petition, 36-42. Yita primarily relied upon the mistranslated “perfectly
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`conform” passage, which their expert now concedes is subjective. EX2185, 55:17-
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`58:14. The “other portions” support MacNeil.
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`First, Yita asserts that the tray “conforms to the contour of the vehicle
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`interior.” Reply, 5. The proper translation is the tray “follows the relief.” EX2024,
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`11; EX2040, 18:19-20:13. But “conforming to the contour” simply means that the
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`tray has a shape somewhat resembling the footwell. Interference fit designs like
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`Bailey were said to “conform to the contour” even though only the top rim touched
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`the surface and the rest of the walls were far away. No POSITA would interpret this
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`language as Yita has, especially when the drawings illustrate tray walls shaped very
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`different from the Lada Niva walls.
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`Second, Yita distorts a statement about the “material” only infringing a “few
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`millimeters” on the footwell space. Reply, 5-6; EX1005, 1:24-26; EX2024, 11:20-
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`22. Yita claims this language refers to the thickness of the material as well as the
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`space between the tray and the footwell wall. But Plaintiff’s expert conceded that
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`this sentence refers to the thickness of the material. EX2185, 60:13-21. Plainly, that
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`is all it is referring to. The space between the